‘Once’ Leads Field for 2012 Tony Nominations

In a diverse theater season with no clear frontrunner, the Tony Award nominations announced Tuesday morning swept across the board, with nods to major star vehicles like “Death of a Salesman,” offbeat newcomers including the new musical “Once,” work by Broadway veterans such as “Nice Work If You Can Get It” and classic revivals with “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.”

As expected, “Death of a Salesman” scored big. The play with a top ticket price of $425 that has been running to packed theaters racked up seven nominations. In addition to getting the nod for best play revival, Philip Seymour Hoffman received a nomination for his critically-lauded performance as Willy Loman, while supporting actor and actress nominations went to Andrew Garfield and Linda Emond, respectively, and Mike Nichols for best director of a play.

In a jammed theater season, there were plenty of shout-outs and snubs:

Tracie Bennett was nominated for best actress in a play for her showy turn as a drug-addled Judy Garland in “End of the Rainbow,” but Elena Roger was overlooked for her performance as Eva Peron in this season’s revival of the musical “Evita.”

In the big-ticket categories—best play and best musical—the nominees included several likely suspects. Best play nominations were expected for “Clybourne Park,” the racially charged drama by playwright Bruce Norris that has already won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, and “Other Desert Cities,” the acidic comedy by Jon Robin Baitz that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year. Other nominees in that category include “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “Venus In Fur”—both of which attracted passionate off-Broadway followings before their Broadway transfers this theater season.

The best musical category was a mixed bag, with nominees including “Once,” the gentle love story set in an Irish pub (the musical received 11 nominations total, more than any other show), “Newsies,” the Disney-produced musical about the 1899 New York newsboys strike, “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” an original musical using songs by George and Ira Gershwin directed by Kathleen Marshall—whose “Anything Goes” dominated last year’s musical revival category—and, in a surprise to some, “Leap of Faith,” a largely panned stage version of the Steve Martin movie.

The musical revival category nominees include “Follies,” one of the few fall shows to receive Tony Award attention—the Tony nominators are famously known to favor the spring shows they saw most recently—and “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” which racked up a total of 10 nominations (tying with “Nice Work” for second most Tony nods).

Last year’s dramas are firmly in the rearview mirror: After its delayed opening, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” was finally eligible for Tony nominations—but received just two, for best scenic design and best costume design for a musical.

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